1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display unit of a digital camera, including a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying a photographed image.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital camera is known that includes a LCD unit for displaying a photographed image and related information, such as a date, an operation mode and so forth. Usually, the LCD is illuminated by a back-light such that the displayed image is sufficiently illuminated even outdoors. The back-light has a high electric power consumption and exerts a negative influence upon a battery""s duration of the digital camera. Symbolic information, such as a date, an operation mode and so forth, is generally displayed in an image display area of the LCD, and as such it is necessary to illuminate the LCD unit with the back-light even when only the information is displayed. Occasionally, an additional display for displaying only the information is utilized. However, the digital camera including such an additional display is complex and a total number of components is increased.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a display unit of a digital camera capable of displaying both a photographed image and information with minimal electric power consumption.
A display unit of a digital camera according to the present invention comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, a main back-light unit, a sub-back-light unit, and a driving circuit. The LCD panel displays a photographed image by the digital camera on an image display area of the LCD panel and displays a symbolic information on an information display area. The main back-light unit illuminates the image display area of the LCD panel. The sub-back-light unit illuminates the information display area of the LCD panel. The driving circuit independently drives the main back-light unit and the sub-back-light unit.